Ran Gvili

Ran Gvili was born in 1999 in Meitar

Gvili was born on 11 February 1999 in Meitar. He was the middle of three children of Itzik and Talik Gvili.

After a pre-military academy, he enlisted in the Golani Brigade. He broke his thigh bone in basic training but returned to combat service and later served as a squad commander. In April 2021 he joined the Israel Police as a combat officer in the Negev Yasam unit.

On 7 October 2023 he was on medical leave with a broken shoulder, but he put on his uniform and vest and drove to the Beersheba police station to equip himself. With Lt. Col. Guy Madar he helped evacuate survivors of the Nova festival at the Sa'ad Junction gas station. In an ambush near Alumim he was wounded in the arm and leg, and the bodies of 14 militants were later found where he was taken to Gaza.

On 30 January 2024 a committee determined he was no longer alive. His parents, members of the Tikva Forum, campaigned for his return, and Israel made it a condition for moving to the second phase of the ceasefire deal. He was posthumously promoted to the rank of first sergeant major.

In Operation Brave Heart, the IDF searched a cemetery in eastern Gaza City and identified his remains on 26 January 2026. He was buried in Meitar on 28 January 2026. Alumim residents named him "Rani, Shield of Alumim".